MovieChat Forums > Waiting for Guffman (1997) Discussion > Rated R for brief strong language?

Rated R for brief strong language?


I haven't seen this movie. Is this "brief strong language" referring to one specific incident, or what? It must be some pretty bad language if the movie were rated R for it. Or is there just a lot of bad language throughout?

"I think we've all arrived at a very special place. Spiritually. Ecumenically. Grammatically."

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The strong language is just one scene.... well, unless you think 'bastard people' and 'ass face' are curse words. :-)

It's soooo tame.

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The strong language which automatically gave it an R rating was the audition in which a man reenacts a scene from "Raging Bull." If a film uses the "F" word in that way, it will get an "R" rating. Apparently the word is okay as a mere interjection, but used in the other way is not allowed.

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Right - that would be the 'just one scene' I mentioned.

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[deleted]

I believe the (arbitrary) number of f-words that a movie needs to get an R-rating is three.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

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Best in Show had less language but a lot of sex talk and it's pg-13, this should've been pg-13


"Have you ever danced with a refrigerator?"

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i agree! the only really bad parts in this movie are this audition scene and then in the sushi place. take those scenes out, and this could even be close to a pg flick. i mean, sure there is some cussing other places, but none of it is bad. heck, my entire family, even my younger siblings, watches this movie together! we just skip those two scenes, and its a great pointless comedy!

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This IS PG in Australia.
We must be so lax Down Under.
It's a Zen thing you know (LOL).

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[deleted]

That's because the MPAA is just a group of hypocritical assclowns.

-AP3-

"This isn't the right time to have a ghost baby!
I think I might need an aboooortion!"

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Or that the MPAA had different standards back in 1997. Don't forget that Midnight Cowboy was rated X (although that didn't stop it from winning a best picture Oscar).

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I still think it would get an R, because things with the MPAA haven't changed that much when it comes to language and sex, but have loosened the restrictions on violence for PG-13 films. It' all about money.

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It definitely would. If anything, the MPAA has become more conservative in recent years when it comes to language and nudity. You could get a way with a lot more in a PG film in the 80s than you can in a PG-13 film today.

Violence doesn't seem to be a problem for the MPAA. To put things into perspective "Waiting for Guffman" has the same rating as "Hostel." Okay, is that helpful whatsoever to parents?

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^It's quite the opposite.

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I think in the commentary they talk about this- They were told he could use one F-word but not two, and they purposely left two in, knowing it would get the R...

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They were told he could use one F-word but not two, and they purposely left two in, knowing it would get the R...

I don't get it. Why would they unnecessarily limit their potential audience that way?

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I still believe it was because of the scene about the penile surgery.

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